Vision 2039: Before & After
VMI's strategic plan calls for the construction of several new facilities and the renovation of many others. The major changes are summarized below. The future campus map and the "After" pictures are provided courtesy of VMI's Communications & Marketing Department. Blue coloring indicates those buildings that will be constructed as part of Vision 2039. All information about the proposed facilities is adapted from the Vision 2039 plan.
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#1: The Leadership and Ethics Center |
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| The Leadership and Ethics Center would provide larger meeting spaces for major speakers and conferences. It would also house new leadership programming designed to prepare cadets for future leadership roles. It is being funded by private donations. | |
#2: Barracks |
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| The current facility has barely enough space to hold everyone and cadets sleep 4-6 people per room. Beds are folded up every morning to make space during the day. | An expanded barracks would provide space for 1,500 cadets by demolishing LeJeune Hall, pictured at the far left of the "Before" photo. The barracks would also provide a student union center. |
#3: Parking Deck |
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 A new parking deck that sits atop the rock wall would provide around 600 spaces for vehicles. It would especially alleviate parking problems for basketball and football games, as well as additional traffic generated by the proposed field house and aquatic center. But construction on the parking deck will not begin for several years, according to Lt. Col. MacInnis. |
| Motorists used to park along this rock wall, which runs along Route 11 through VMI. Additional parking is necessary to support the proposed building projects. | |
#4: Kilbourne Hall |
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 Kilbourne Hall will host an expanded and upgraded ROTC program to maximize the number of cadets that accept commissions in the Armed Forces upon graduation. To allow for the expansion, the buildings and grounds facilities that sit next to Kilbourne will be relocated north of campus next to Rockbridge County High School. The current photo of Kilbourne also shows the underground work being performed along Route 11 to fix drainage and runoff problems to accommodate VMI's ambitious construction plans. |
#5: P. Wesley Foster, Jr. Stadium |
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| The football stadium is currently torn up to allow for the installation of boxed culverts, sanitation sewers, and installing utilities underground. The entrance to the stadium will also be reconstructed to improve the overall facility. | The stadium design not only upgrades the stadium's ambience but also provides for renovated stands and concession areas, expanded locker rooms, a weight room, and an all-weather practice field. VMI officials believe this is one of the projects that will help beautify Route 11, a main artery into Downtown Lexington. |
#6: Field House |
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| The proposed field house site is on the corner of Route 11 and Diamond Hill, a residential neighborhood. It would sit across the street from the basketball stadium, which is visible at the far left of this photo. | The field house would provide an all-weather sports facility including an Olympic-style indoor track and an indoor arena for soccer and lacrosse. As pictured, it would sit along Route 11 adjacent to the proposed aquatic facility. |
#7: Aquatic Center |
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| The aquatic center, like the field house, backs up to local Lexington neighborhoods. VMI has already purchased and cleared two blocks of residential houses to make room for the center. Existing homes that will sit adjacent to the center can be glimpsed in the background of this photo. | VMI's aquatic facilities have long needed a facelift. The proposed aquatic center would boast an Olympic-size, 50-meter swimming pool that would help VMI attract colleges and universities across the country for competitions. |
#8: Gray-Minor Stadium |
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| The funding needed to upgrade the baseball stadium was provided by private donations and was handled through the VMI Foundation. The baseball diamond is next to the tennis courts and soccer fields in an area of campus known as "North Post." | The expansion of the baseball stadium will anchor the renovation of much of the North Post area. The new stadium would include plenty of seating as well as modernized facilities similar to those planned for the football stadium. |
#9: North Post |
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| This photo shows a view of the tennis courts from the Woods Creek trail that runs along North Post. The baseball diamond is far in the background. Much of North Post is disjointed and in need of a facelift. | Plans for the North Post area call for improved athletic and leadership facilities that include additional fields for expanded club sports and new Rat Challenge and confidence courses. Both the Maury River and Woods Creek border the area, raising concerns about how North Post construction may affect those environments. |
#10: Building & Grounds |
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| The relocation of buildings and grounds due to the Kilbourne Hall expansion will move that facility off post and onto property next to Rockbridge County High School. | The move has already prompted the clearing of a wooded area behind the high school that contained soft-ground trails. Those trails were used by the high school's cross country team and their 3-mile course had been a source of pride for years. |
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